54 HISTORY OF 



I well remember that joyful anxious moment 

 when I first became acquainted with my own 

 existence. I was quite ignorant of what I was, 

 how I was produced, or from whence I came. I 

 opened my eyes : what an addition to my sur- 

 prise ! The light of the day, the azure vault of 

 heaven, the verdure of the earth, the crystal of 

 the waters, all employed me at once, and ani- 

 mated and filled me with inexpressible delight. 

 I at first imagined that all those objects were with- 

 in me, and ma$e a part of myself. 



Impressed with this idea, I turned my eyes to 

 the sun ; its splendour dazzled and overpowered 

 me : I shut them once more, and, to my great 

 concern, I supposed that during this short inter- 

 val of darkness I was again returning to nothing. 



Afflicted, seized with astonishment, I pondered 

 a moment on this great change, when I heard a 

 variety of unexpected sounds. The whistling of 

 the wind, and the melody of the grove, formed a 

 concert, the soft cadence of which sunk upon my 

 soul. I listened for some time, and was persuad- 

 ed that all this music was within me. 



Quite occupied with this new kind of existence, 

 I had already forgotten the light which was my 

 first inlet into life, when I once more opened my 

 eyes, and found myself again in possession of my 

 former happiness. The gratification of the two 

 senses at once, was a pleasure too great for utter- 

 ance. 



I turned my eyes upon a thousand various ob- 

 jects : I soon found that I could lose them, and 

 restore them at will ; and amused myself more 



